Davidson High School coach Fred Riley makes a point during preseason practice in August. (Press-Register/Mike Kittrell)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Some battles are worth fighting even though they're almost impossible to win.

Fred Riley got a reminder this month.

Despite his best intentions and efforts for the last eight years as the head football coach at Davidson High School in Mobile, a commitment isn't always a commitment when it comes to recruiting.

Davidson lineman Alphonse Taylor committed to Florida State last spring.

Two weeks ago, he de-committed. Last week, he committed to Alabama and plans to start school there in January.

That's not unusual. Not in this state. Not even this month.

Daphne running back T.J. Yeldon switched his commitment from Auburn to Alabama. Fairhope lineman Robert Leff switched from Southern Miss to Auburn.

In late November, within days of the Iron Bowl, coaches from Auburn and Alabama visited Hueytown quarterback Jameis Winston, despite his commitment to Florida State.

"We should change the language," Riley said. "It's really not a commitment. All they did was announce who the front-runner was at that moment."

Taylor's switch hit home for Riley because he instituted an educational process at Davidson designed to prevent this kind of flip-flop. The basic lesson: Don't commit unless you know what a commitment is and you're ready to make one. If you do commit, stick to it.

In short, if a Davidson player commits - even though a verbal pledge is non-binding in the eyes of the NCAA - the school shuts down his recruiting, at least through the school. Riley said Alabama followed Davidson's rules after Taylor committed to Florida State.

"Alabama came on our campus several times and never asked to speak to Alphonse at the school," Riley said. "They followed the protocol we have. Everybody did. His senior year was totally uninterrupted."

Kevin Scarbinsky is a columnist for The Birmingham News. His column is published on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Still, the week before the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic, Taylor sent a text to the Davidson academic counselor saying he was thinking of switching to Alabama. Riley believes that all-star week played a key role in Taylor's switch. After playing on the offensive line during his senior year, he played nose tackle for the Alabama all-stars and "that reignited a spark in him as to what position he wanted to play in college."

In addition, a number of the Alabama all-stars were already committed to the Crimson Tide and recruited Taylor to join them in Tuscaloosa.

"They spent a week with him and had a great influence on him," Riley said. "I don't think he would've flipped if he hadn't spent that week in Montgomery. Those kids bond. I think that nudged him in a direction he was already thinking about."

The Monday after the all-star game, Taylor met with Riley in the coach's office. Later that day, Riley met with the Taylor family.

"It was gut-wrenching for their family," Riley said. "They really labored with this, within the family, with how it all played out."

The next day, Riley released a statement explaining Taylor's decision to de-commit from Florida State.

That was a Tuesday. Because Taylor was going to start college in January and wouldn't be in Mobile on signing day in February, Davidson had planned a small ceremony for him for the next day at the school. Cake. Ice cream. Balloons. That kind of thing.

Instead, because he had not followed through on his original public commitment, in keeping with the Davidson program's policy, that ceremony was canceled. It was not rescheduled. If Taylor were to stay in high school through the spring, he wouldn't be allowed to participate in Davidson's annual signing day ceremony.

Sound harsh? It's not personal.

"We're going to root for him as hard as we can," Riley said. "We're still Alphonse Taylor fans."

This is about a coach and a school standing up for a principle. Shouldn't they be commended for trying to teach their student-athletes what commitment really means? Davidson's policy has worked. Riley said only a couple of his players have switched commitments in eight years.

Among other things, Riley teaches his players not to choose a college because of the assistant coach in charge of their recruiting. His point: "Go to college where you want to go to college. Don't go there because somebody sells their product better than somebody else. The next day, that guy may be selling the product for the school you just turned down."

In short, coaches themselves de-commit all the time.

Riley suggested one way to change this often flawed and laughable system of commitments that don't last as long as Kim Kardashian's marriage.

"The day they commit, they should be able to sign the national letter-of-intent," he said. "If they don't sign, they didn't commit."

Taylor's change of heart changed at least one mind at Davidson. Last week, one staffer told Riley that he'd always disagreed with the coach's policy, that he'd believed kids should be allowed to do what they want in recruiting.

Until Taylor did what he did.

That staffer told Riley, "Now I understand."

"Every now and then," Riley said, "it's good to have a hiccup to remind people why we do what we do."